Modern botanical idiotaxonomy and syntaxonomy have both common and differing features. The common features are a pragmatic approach and an accent on conditional units, especially the species and the association. The differing features are in the nature of organismic and the coenotic levels of life. Taxonomy is based on a stronger genetical and phylogenetical relationship between taxa, which are thus not quite artifical and the scope of the species concept is roughly the same all over the world. The hierarchy in taxonomy reflects a phylogeny at least to some extent. The basis of syntaxonomy is entirely conventional owing to the continuous nature of vegetation. As a result, the scope of the association concept varies with different national schools, and the hierarchy in syntaxonomy is of a pragmatical, at best of an ecological nature.